The Partnership of Philippine Support Service Agencies

(PHILSSA) through its NGO consortium in Quezon City led

by the Foundation for the Development of the Urban Poor

(FDUP), in partnership with Quezon City Urban Poor

Alliance (QC UP-ALL) and Urban Poor Alliance of Kyusi

(UPAK), currently implements the project “Institutionalizing

Local and National Partnerships to Address Urban Poverty

in the Philippines.”

The project aims to provide security of tenure and basic

services to urban informal settlers by building and strength-

ening partnerships with organizations and institutions

working with and for the sector.

This project is made possible by the United Kingdom’s

Department for International Development (DFID), with

supplementary support from Asian Coalition for Community

Action program of the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights

(ACCA-ACHR).

DOUBLE ISSUE FEBRUARY—MAY 2010

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kyusiupallbulletin

PRESIDENT NOY enigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III was sworn in as the 15th president of the Philippines at the Quirino

grandstand in Luneta, City of Manila, last June 30, 2010.

Although there was no data from the Quezon City Urban Poor Alliance (UP-ALL), it was clear on the count of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) that Aquino won in Quezon City. He got a total of 364,048 votes or 48% of the total vote turnout. Former president Joseph Estrada placed second.

However, Sen. Mar Roxas, the vice presidential bet of QC UP-ALL lost to former Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay based on final figures from Comelec and the National Board of

Canvassers. Based on the tally of Comelec-Quezon City, Roxas got a total of 302,618 votes or 40% of the total vote turnout in the city, very close to Binay’s 363,841 votes.

The victory of President-elect Aquino is considered a triumph of QC UP-ALL which committed to campaign for him in its members’ communities. Last March, Aquino entered into a covenant with the urban poor where he promised to support policies and programs on housing and security of tenure that UP-ALL advocates. (See the insert page for the covenant with the urban poor he signed along with Sen. Roxas).

In the local election, Herbert Baustista won as mayor. Joy Belmonte, the daughter of former mayor will serve as the vice mayor. Meanwhile, former

mayor Sonny Belmonte won a congres-sional seat for District 4. (See page 4 for the list of winning candidates in Quezon City).

QC UP-ALL made sure that they will actively engage the government, both at the national and local levels. It will look after the reforms to be imple-mented by the new administration in the housing agencies like HUDCC, NHA, and SHFC. QC UP-ALL will also focus its work on local issues such as the operationalization of the Local Housing Board (LHB) and approval of implementing rules and regulation (IRR) of the 3-meter easement ordinance, and Participation, Accountability and Transparency (PAT) ordinance. �

B

ELECTION 2010

2 kyusiupallbulletin Postscript to the election

BEHIND THE EUPHORIA brought by Noynoy Aquino’s ascent to the presidency is a renewed hope for us Filipinos.

Fate had been unkind to informal settlers in recent administrations, particularly under Joseph Estrada and Gloria Arroyo. Massive evictions and demolitions rendered thousands of families homeless. The lack of clear relocation resulted in their further impoverishment, both economically and psychologically. But we have learned to fight for our rights. As the

saying goes, we “never say die!”

After entering into a covenant with our sector, we pinned our hopes on President Aquino and volunteered to campaign for him.

We are now at a new chapter of our struggle, and we cannot afford to merely wait for the president to deliver the changes he promised to imple-ment. We are called to help him in developing strategies that will solve our problems without compromising our basic rights as human persons. In the process, we should always be re-

minded that we also have the right to the fruits of development which we help bring in society as “workforce of the cities.”

As we expect dramatic changes under the new government, we should be proactive in protecting and fighting for our rights. Let us continue the fight! �

_________________________ Jose Morales is the president of ULAP, a federation of organized communities based in river ease-ments.

AFTER MONTHS OF grueling campaign in several cities and municipalities in and outside Metro Manila, I had many experiences and learning about our country and its people.

The campaign for Noynoy Aquino emphasized forging cooperation between government and the governed in order to achieve real change.

I participated in campaign activities that promoted this fundamental such as the Boto Ko Sagrado, Hindi Pro-dukto (“My Vote is Sacred, Not a Commodity”) seminars. The seminars aimed to remind voters to choose what is right, ward their votes and continu-ously participate in governance after the election.

As a regular volunteer of the People Power Volunteer Center (PPVC), I was also tasked to distribute leaflets in vast and populous areas of Metro Manila. During one of the campaigns in Parola, Tondo in Manila I met a fish

ball vendor.

I asked him, “Who will you vote for president?”

He immediately replied, “Noynoy Aquino.” His makeshift cart was full of Noynoy stickers.

“Why him?”

“Noynoy has genuine concern for the country. He will lead to fight chronic corruption.” An ordinary man, I felt that what he said came from his heart.

UP-ALL electoral engagement was also different compared to other sec-tors’. The urban poor covenant with Sen. Aquino and Sen. Roxas became the core of its campaign commitment. The alliance got the support of the two in pushing forward the agenda of the sector. This covenant will then be the basis of our cooperation with the new administration.

Towards a meaningful engagement of UP-ALL in any election, there should

be systematic planning from warding of votes until the proclamation of the supported candidate. Moreover, a solid “urban poor vote” remains to be established.

The election is over. The important thing is what we shall do after the election. Indeed, the election outcome will greatly affect our lives and our influence our advocacies. I also hope that election-related violence and rampant vote-buying do not recur again in future elections.

I am optimistic that we will be united in helping our new administration. Let us be on guard and continue to participate towards genuine change. �

______________ Ka Ping is the chairman of LCMP-PO Network which is composed of people’s organization under the Community Mortgage Program (CMP).

COMMITTED TO SUPPORT THE UP-ALL AGENDA, PRESIDENT AQUINO FOUND ARDENT CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEERS FROM QC UP-ALL. TWO LEADERS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE AND LESSONS IN TAKING THE FIELD IN PROMOTING AQUINO’S PROMISE OF CHANGE.

Change we can achieve! Cipriano “Ping” Fampulme

Finding solutions together Jose R. Morales

Covenant with the Urban Poor

“There will be no turning back on pledges made during the campaign, today and in the coming challenges we will face in the next 6 years. .” - from President Aquino’s inaugural speech, 30 June 2010

In November 2009, the Urban Poor Alliance (UP-ALL) presented to Sen. Noynoy Aquino and Sen. Mar Roxas its agenda for improving the plight of the sector and building inclusive cities. Unlike other sectors, UP-ALL’s recommended policy inter-ventions were based on evidence. Two months before the national election, Aquino and Roxas signed a covenant with the urban poor where they promised to base their platforms and programs, should they win, on these agenda. Below is an abridged version of the covenant:

Our country’s most valuable resource is its people. In a modern economy every person must be able to contribute the best of his or her abilities to the development of the country. However, poverty denies many Filipinos this opportunity. Bad governance and corruption subvert development and growth.

As candidates for public office, we pledge to build a just society for all Filipinos. We shall rid government of corruption and vigorously combat poverty. We do not offer empty promises or stop-gap measures but well-studied, sustainable solutions and the commitment to implement them. Best of all, we have arrived at these policy commitments in consultation with the people.

1 No eviction without decent relocation. We will end illegal forced evictions. We will not allow any public authority or private entity to evict families and leave them homeless in the streets. As the work force of our cities, the poor, to the extent possible, will be given the opportunity to stay in the cities. We will strengthen efforts to achieve balanced urban-rural development and establish sustainable livelihood activities in relocation areas.

2 Support for area upgrading and in-city resettlement. We will shift the emphasis of our housing program from off-city relocation to area upgrading and in-city resettlement through programs like the Community Mortgage Program (CMP) and Presidential land proclama-tions. We will accelerate CMP, promote its localization, proclaim land in favor of as many poor families as possible, and order a review of all existing proclamations to accelerate the provision of tenure to their intended beneficiaries.

3 Provide basic services to poor communities. Over the six years of our term, we will increase the health and education allocation in our national budget to bring them to par with that of our neighboring countries. We will extend health insurance coverage to all urban poor people, put an end to shifting in public schools and provide a full set of quality textbooks to our public school children. We will provide poor communities easier access to water and electricity.

4 Housing budget. We shall strive to cover the estimated housing need by providing the necessary funds to implement existing and new social housing programs. We will ensure the full release of the mandated budgetary allocations in the Comprehensive and Integrated Shelter Financing Act (CISFA).

5 Jobs. We will create jobs for the poor by means of large-scale public works programs and support for entrepreneur-ship and skills development. We will help those in the informal sector to avail of relevant incentives, services and benefits, such as access to social security and other forms of assistance.

6 Increased cooperation with local government units. We will work with Local Government Units for the full implementation of the Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA). To encourage LGUs to take the lead in addressing housing needs, we will provide them with incentives like co-financing schemes, technical assistance and other support services. We will institutionalize and strengthen participatory shelter planning at the local level.

7 Peace. We will make every effort to begin sustainable and uninterrupted peace negotiations in Mindanao. We will respond to the needs of people and communities in Mindanao displaced by continuing conflicts.

8 Post-Ondoy Rehabilitation Program. We recognize that most people living in hazardous areas are forced by circumstances to live in these places because government has failed to provide viable alternatives. We will explore new approaches that address both the housing and livelihood needs of Ondoy-affected families. We will review Executive Order 854 in consultation with the affected communities and look for appropriate solutions for the families living in Manggahan Floodway and Lupang Arenda.

9 Appointments. The appointment of reform-minded persons is essential to the attainment of our objective of instituting reforms and steering the HUDCC and other shelter agencies to become more responsive and effective agencies in delivering housing services. Cabinet positions and portfolios, including the Undersecretaries and Assistant Secretaries, would be distributed among the three major islands (Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao) without sacrificing competence and trustworthiness criteria. We will appoint a person with a track record and demonstrated capacity in delivering social housing as HUDCC Chairperson. We will appoint NGO and PO representatives in the board of the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) and in the council of HUDCC and an NGO representative with observer status to the board of the National Housing Authority (NHA). We will appoint the NHA General Manager, the SHFC President and the Chairman of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor in consultation with civil society groups.

10 Participation and stakeholdership. We will emphasize the participation of all stakeholders in finding solutions to the problems that they face. In fact, the process that we will go through to provide the details of this plan we have presented will be consultative and transparent.

All these goals that we have agreed with the urban poor will be part of our development agenda and platform to build an inclusive urban society.

NOYNOY AQUINO MAR ROXAS

Proposed doables for the first year and first 100 days of President Noynoy Aquino DOABLES FOR THE FIRST YEAR

COMMUNITY MORTGAGE PROGRAM and PRESIDEN-TIAL PROCLAMATIONS

� Shift the emphasis of the social housing program from off-city resettlement to slum upgrading and in-city resettlement through scaling up and accelerating CMP and presidential land proclamations.

� Issue executive orders proclaiming the government lands recommended by HUDCC as alienable & disposable for social housing sites and expedite the distribution of CELAs in the proclaimed sites.

� Develop new and innovative housing products that will target the poor whose needs are not being addressed by existing programs.

INFORMAL SETTLER EVICTIONS

� Strengthen the role of PCUP & CHR to make them effective in stopping unlawful evictions and enforcing strict compliance with UDHA among agencies implementing demolitions.

� Appoint a PCUP head who is a person recommended by NGOs-POs working on evictions.

RESETTLEMENT

� Issue an EO requiring all infrastructure projects to prepare a Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) prior to any clearing of right-of-way and mandating the National Housing Authority (NHA) to adopt minimum standards for resettlement in the RAP providing for quality housing, adequate basic services and sustainable livelihood support.

� Ensure the representation of affected communities in inter-agency committees created for infrastructure-related resettlement projects.

HOUSING BUDGET

� Ensure the full release and utilization of the Comprehensive and Integrated Shelter Finance Act (CISFA) balance of PhP12B within 3 years by urging Congress to appropriate PhP4 billion during the first year (and every year for the succeeding two years) and accelerating the CISFA-supported programs.

� Identify other sources of funds to finance the housing requirement.

LOCALIZATION

� Create new and reform existing programs (LCMP) that will provide support and incentives to LGUs to take the lead in addressing housing needs.

� Institutionalize and strengthen participatory shelter planning at the local level and identify other fund sources to support housing programs particularly for informal settlers at the local level.

� Mandate LGUs to allocate at least 5% of their 20% Economic Development Fund in the IRA for housing.

POST ONDOY REHABILITATION

� Adopt a clear policy of on-site upgrading and in-city reloca-tion for Metro Manila informal settlers who were affected by typhoon Ondoy.

� Undertake a Metro-Manila wide participatory community-based hazard and vulnerability assessment and planning process which will serve as the basis for the rehabilitation of the riverbank settlements by: Enabling every affected urban poor community to assess and report on the economic and social-psychological damage they have experienced as a result

of Ondoy; Drawing on academic professionals, development NGOs, city planning offices and disaster risk reduction specialists to design in consultation with people’s organiza-tions and barangay officials a series of simple investigative instruments to obtain the needed data, and engage in the analyzing and writing up the results quickly with the respective communities.

� Re-examine existing land uses, zoning regulations and laws on land rights, to enable the state to maximize the use of existing land resources for the benefit of informal settlers who make up the bulk of the workforce of Metro Manila. Encour-age river settler communities to identify tracts of vacant land in their vicinity which might suitably house a number of river-bank families at least temporarily; list their owners if they can get the information, and convey this to city officials;

� Develop a variety of tenure instruments to provide secure housing tenure to the poor so they can live legally in Metro Manila. Mandate city officials to identify and discuss with landowners and the nearby settlers the possibility of a tempo-rary, two- or three-year usufruct arrangement for temporary relocation of nearby river-settlers, in which the city govern-ment will pay a lump sum rental advance to the owner, and which the community will repay in monthly rental instal-ments to be collected by the community association/PO. Direct HUDCC, with the assistance of the appropriate key shelter agencies (e.g. NHA is mandated by law to do land banking), SHFC (can provide financing)) to make an inven-tory of properties foreclosed by government and private banks which the government can buy to be used as social housing sites. Mandate the city government in accordance with UDHA requirements to identify social housing sites in the city and allocate these to nearby settlers as permanent social housing sites under a variety of tenure schemes (e.g. rental, usufruct, ownership through CMP); where space is limited the possibil-ity of mixed-use medium-rise buildings, some suitably set-back along the river, as appropriate for some can be discussed with the community in a participatory planning process. The experience of NGOs engaged in land acquisition and community upgrading programs should be tapped for workable solutions.

DOABLES FOR THE FIRST 100 DAYS

APPOINTMENTS

Policy Statement: The appointment of reform-minded persons is integral/essential to the attainment of the objective of HUDCC to institute reforms & steer this office and other shelter agencies to become more responsive, efficient, and effective agencies in the delivery of housing services to poor families. Cabinet positions and portfolios including the Undersecretaries and Asst. Secretaries would be distributed among the three major islands (Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao) without sacrificing competence and trust-worthiness as criteria.

Executive Action:

� Appointment of a person with an excellent track record and demonstrated capacity in delivering social housing as HUDCC Chairperson

� Appointment of NGO and PO representatives in the boards of SHFC, NHA and in the Council of HUDCC

� Appointment of the NHA General Manager and the SHFC President with nomination or recommendation from civil society groups.

Moratorium on evictions

� Suspend the eviction of thousands of families to be affected by the revocation of PP704.

3 kyusiupallbulletin

N PREVIOUS ELECTIONS, CIVIL SOCIETY groups mostly avoided campaigning or openly supporting candidates or political parties, implicitly propagating the notion that partisanship was not a proper role for them.

Ironically, even though deeply committed to improving the quality of governance and increasing citizens’ participation in political processes, these groups chose not to publicly endorse candidates and confined their activities to conducting voters’ education, training volunteers for poll-watching or helping grass-roots organizations develop policy agenda which they would present to candidates.

In this election, a good number of civil society organizations opted to go partisan. They dared to challenge the long-held belief among NGOs and people’s organizations (POs) that engaging the elections in a partisan way would foment division, compromise the credibility of their organizations and make building constructive relationships with the elected officials, especially local ones, difficult if these had not been the favored candidates.

In a democracy, elections are the chief means by which citizens can make their leaders accountable. If this is so, should not elections then be used precisely as an occasion for citizens, especially the organized among them, to make public their choices and the reasons for these choices? By this logic, partisan engagement in elections is in fact an exercise in making leaders accountable. If civil society groups preach accountability, they ought to be prepared to transform this principle into something practical and efficacious during elections.

Early in the campaign period, urban poor groups belonging to some of the biggest urban poor national, regional and city-wide federations made a decision to support a presidential and a vice-presidential candidate on the basis of an urban poor policy agenda. One such network, the Urban Poor Alliance (UP-ALL), decided on a process for choosing the candidates it would support and for seeking an agreement with the candidates on a reform agenda.

The first step in the agreed process was to screen the presidential and vice-presidential contenders based on a scorecard. The members decided on the criteria the scorecard would contain and formulated indicators for judging the candidates. Among the criteria identified were moral integrity, leadership and background, bias for the poor, including previous positions taken on issues of the urban poor, and chances of winning.

After hurdling logistical and other challenges along the way, the alliance chose Senators Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas as the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, respectively, that it would campaign for. The next step was to begin discussing with the two candidates the policy agenda which the alliance

wanted them to pursue if elected.

Again this process took many weeks and much painstaking work. Consensus on the agenda had to be formed among the member organizations. The agenda contained specific executive actions and a few legislative measures which had been a product of numerous discussions within the alliance. Still, explicit approval of all the agenda items needed to be obtained from the members to ensure full ownership of the agenda by the alliance. Once consensus was secured, a dialogue with the two candidates was set.

This meeting took place on Nov. 27, 2009. Representatives of the member federations of the alliance took turns presenting and explaining the agenda to Aquino and Roxas. The two candidly responded to each of the items, accepting some of them, qualifying or presenting alternatives to others and promising to further study some others. After this first dialogue, the members of the alliance discussed whether they were satisfied with the responses of the candidates. Reaching consensus was not easy. Further talks were held with the policy team of the Noy-Mar campaign, even as many members in different cities began campaigning for the Liberal Party candidates. There was a strong commitment on the part of the alliance to campaign for their chosen candidates but at the same time it wanted to secure the candidates’ acceptance of its policy agenda.

After months of discussing and refining the agenda, a Covenant with the Urban Poor was finally agreed and signed by Aquino and Roxas and published in a major daily and in a tabloid. What distinguished this covenant from most other candidates’ platforms was that the agenda contained not motherhood statements but specific executive actions which were supported by an identifiable constituency of urban poor and civil society organizations and had gone through a careful process of study, deliberation and dialogue between this constituency and the candidates.

Many citizens’ groups and even politicians have been calling for principled politics and a politics of change but have done little to translate this into action. The urban poor took the initiative in developing a process by which principled politics in a partisan way can be practiced. Candidates cannot but respond to serious initiatives from citizens. If there had been more of such exercises in this election across a broad range of sectors, the tenor of the campaign could have veered away from the mudslinging, name-calling and false advertising that degraded the quality of the present electoral contest.

There will be other elections in the future. The urban poor have shown that partisan principled politics on the basis of an agenda developed not instantly but over years of informed advocacy can become the stuff of campaigns in future elections. �

I

The urban poor and principled partisanship

TOGETHER TOWARDS CHANGE THEN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE AQUINO ATTENDED A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION PREPARED FOR HIM BY THE LEADERS OF UP-ALL IN PAYATAS, QUEZON CITY. IT WAS IN SUCH INSTANCES THAT HE SHOWED HIS COMMITMENT TO WORK FOR AND WITH THE URBAN POOR SECTOR. PHOTO BY JAYSON MIRANDA, FDUP

Anna Marie A. Karaos John J. Carroll Institute on Church and Social Issues * Reprinted article from the Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 11, 2010

4 kyusiupallbulletin kyusiupallbulletin

The kyusiupallbulletin is the official

newsletter of the DFID-QC Project, and

comes out every quarter.

This is prepared by the Education, Research

and Training Committee composed of

Alternative Planning Initiatives, Inc.

(ALTERPLAN), John J. Carroll Institute on

Church and Social Issues (JJCICSI) and

Community Organizers Multiversity (COM),

as well as the people’s organizations in

Quezon City.

Funded by PHILSSA through UK DFID and

ACCA-ACHR, kyusiupallbulletin provides

information and latest updates about the

project Institutionalizing Local and

National Partnerships to Address Urban

Poverty and Homelessness in the

Philippines implemented in Quezon City.

Queries about the project can be directed to:

Foundation for the Development of the

Urban Poor (FDUP), DFID-QC Imple-

menting Agency (913-2751)

Partnership for Philippine Support

Service Agencies (PHILSSA) (426.4327 |

426.4328 | 426.0811 | 426.6001 local 4854).

ON PAGE 3 OF THE THIRD ISSUE OF THE kyusiupallbulletin, THE LAST YEAR IN

THE TIMELINE SHOULD HAVE READ 2010, NOT 2009. THE QUEZON CITY MAYOR

SIGNED THE IMPLEMENTING GUIDELINES OF THE LOCAL HOUSING BOARD

(LHB) ON JANUARY 25, 2010.

QC SOCIAL HOUSING FUND

ERRATUM

BARANGAY GULOD — The massive flooding brought by typhoon Ondoy (international name: Ketsana) in September 2009 damaged not only thousands of houses but also the small-scale livelihoods which augment the incomes of families belonging to the Gulod Urban Poor Alliance (GUPA).

When the nearby Tullahan River overflowed, sacks of organic fertilizer, produced through a method called Takakura composting and sold to families in and around Barangay Gulod, vanished with the ravaging floods.

Developed by Mr. Konji Takakura, the Takakura Home Method (THM) is a quick composting method that can be done in individual households in urban areas. Biodegradable and organic kitchen wastes such as fruits and vegetable peels are mixed with soil and rice husk. Native microorganisms feed on the waste and convert it into an earthlike mass producing good quality and odorless compost. After 2 to 3 weeks, the compost can be sold as fertilizer at PhP 25 per kilo-gram, with a PhP 10-earning.

After learning and applying this composting technique, families in Barangay Gulod have both reduced their kitchen wastes and earned them additional income. Because of the potential of Takakura compost production in augmenting the incomes of families in the barangay, GUPA president Theresa Antonio borrowed PhP12,000 from the Quezon City Social Housing Fund. As the project progresses, the start-up capital is expected to benefit 1,000 families in Gulod.

Community organizations interested in learning the Takakura composting method may reach GUPA president Theresa Antonio at 0923-214-1440. �

Rehabilitation of the Takakura Composting and Livelihood Project in Gulod

Councilors District 1 Dorothy Delarmente Francisco Calalay Jr. Anthony Peter Crisologo Ricardo Belmonte Jr. Joseph Juico Alexis Herrera

District 2 Precious Castelo Alfredo Vargas Roderick Paulate Eden Delilah Medina Julienne Medalla Godofredo Liban II

District 3 Julian Coseteng Allan Benedict Reyes Jaime Borres Don de Leon Giancarlo Sotto Eufemio Lagumbay

District 4 Edcel Lagman Jr. Jesus Suntay Jessica Daza Raquel Malangen Vincent Eric Belmonte Jr. Marvin Rillo

New local leaders for Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte

District Representatives Bingbong Crisologo (District 1) Winnie Castello (District 2) Bolet Banal (District 3) Sonny Belmonte (District 4)

THERE’S MONEY IN TRASH MOTHERS IN BARANGAY GULOD PREPARE THE CONCOCTIONS AND MATERIALS FOR COMPOSTING AND PRODUCING FERTILIZER FROM WHICH THEY EARN EXTRA INCOME.